California Classroom Science

News and Events in Region 2

Posted: Monday, June 4th, 2012

by Eric Lewis

As I’m starting to write this, it’s officially the last week of work in my school district. I’ve been attending graduations every day and it’s not even June yet. When I grew up, summer was more of a July and August affair; now it seems like summer is starting earlier and earlier (not to mention summer weather, but that’s a whole other story).

This summer is the first time in a while that I decided to take some time off. No IISME this year, even though I had an amazing time last year working at KQED thanks to IISME’s summer program. Of course, like most teachers, I spend a lot of time over the summer thinking about my practice, changing up my labs, adding new activities and projects to my curriculum, and seeking out professional development (short and paid, please) to help me to improve my practice.

Of course, what we think we’re going to do and what we actually do are often very different things. I had planned to spend a lot of time at home – planning out Daddy-camps for my daughter. Perhaps this would be our summer to camp in some of California’s state parks. Perhaps we would take a trip to LA or San Diego to see friends and – maybe – take in some amusement parks. Or, maybe, I’d start applying for some of the amazing programs that science teachers can take advantage of over the summer.

Oh, no. Let the applications begin. In my job, I get to find resources to share with other science teachers in the district. As I send things out to teachers, I’m often surprised by the appeal of these opportunities. I recommend that you all apply for some of them in the future. The Grosvenor Teacher Fellow program looks amazing. I’d certainly be up for traveling to the Arctic with them! NOAA’s Teacher at Sea looks like a great opportunity as well.

If you know of great summer opportunities for teachers (even ones that are no longer available for this summer) PLEASE let me know. I’d love to include them here, too.

I hope that you take the opportunity to attend the CA Science Education Conference in San Jose this year. And, please let me know if there are things that you’d like to add to our Region’s offerings. Don’t forget to encourage your colleagues to join CSTA. I’m hoping that we’ll have the opportunity to grow our organization and expand to meet your needs and your colleague’s needs. To that end, please feel free to email me directly so that I can represent your questions and concerns with the CSTA board as a whole.

“These teachers are dedicated and accomplished individuals whose innovative teaching styles prepare our students for 21st century careers and college and develop them into the designers and inventors of the future,” Torlakson said. “They rank among the finest in their profession and also serve as wonderful mentors and role models.”

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By the time this message is posted online, most schools across California will have been in session for at least a month (if not longer, and hat tip to that bunch!). Long enough to get a good sense of who the kids in your classroom are and to get into that groove and momentum of the daily flow of teaching. It’s also very likely that for many of you who weren’t a part of a large grant initiative or in a district that set wheels in motion sooner, this is the first year you will really try to shift instruction to align to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). I’m not going to lie to you, it’s a challenging year – change is hard. Change is even harder when there’s not a playbook to go by. But as someone who has had the very great privilege of walking alongside teachers going through that change for the past two years and being able to glimpse at what this looks like for different demographics across that state, there are three things I hope you will hold on to. These are things I have come to learn will overshadow the challenge: a growth mindset will get you far, one is a very powerful number, and it’s about the kids. Learn More…

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“Science and Social Studies can be taught for the last half hour of the day on Fridays”

– Elementary school principal

Anyone concerned with the teaching of science in elementary school is keenly aware of the problem of time. Kids need to learn to read, and learning to read takes time, nobody disputes that. So Common Core ELA can seem like the enemy of science. This was a big concern to me as I started looking at the curriculum that my district had adopted for Common Core ELA. I’ve been through those years where teachers are learning a new curriculum, and know first-hand how a new curriculum can become the focus of attention- sucking all the air out of the room. Learn More…

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Think back on your own experiences with learning science in school. Were you required to memorize disjointed facts without understanding the concepts?

Science Education Background

In the past, science education focused on rote memorization and learning disjointed ideas. Elementary and secondary students in today’s science classes are fortunate now that science instruction has shifted from students demonstrating what they know to students demonstrating how they are able to apply their knowledge. Science education that reflects the Next Generation Science Standards challenges students to conduct investigations. As students explore phenomena and discrepant events they engage in academic discourse guided by focus questions from their teachers or student generated questions of that arise from analyzing data and creating and revising models that explain natural phenomena. Learn More…

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This month I was fortunate enough to hear about some new topics to share with our entire region. Some of you may access the online or newsletter options, others may attend events in person that are nearer to you. Long time CSTA member and environmental science educator Mike Roa is well known to North Bay Area teachers for his volunteer work sharing events and resources. In this month’s Region 1 updates I am happy to make a few of the options Mike offers available to our region. Learn More…